


The Day That Changed Their Lives

by seizethosegays



Category: Newsies - All Media Types
Genre: M/M, and a jerk, and beat him, and kicked him out, please be careful if that’s a trigger, race is trans, races father is a drunk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-25
Updated: 2018-11-25
Packaged: 2019-08-29 07:48:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,665
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16739986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seizethosegays/pseuds/seizethosegays
Summary: Spot remembers the day that changed his life. There’s a lot of them usually, but this one was his favorite(a bit of violence)





	The Day That Changed Their Lives

Spot looked at the tall boy sitting next to him, laughing at whatever show he put on. He didn’t understand it. It wasn’t in English. But Race understood it. And he liked it. So, Spot suffered through whatever was on. Well, he wasn’t really watching. He was thinking. He was thinking back to the day Race came out. It was way back in ninth grade.  
…   
Spot groaned and threw his blanket off of him. His eyes burned and his throat was dry. Some asshole decided to knock on his door at two in the morning. And, since his foster parents weren’t home and Tex was at a friends house, Spot had to answer it. The freckled boy rubbed his eyes and made his way to the door. He should have just ignored it. Tell them to go home and then go back to bed. But something felt different. Something felt...off. Like something happened and you needed to know because it was important, but you didn’t and it bugged you. 

The door knob was cold to the touch. Come to think of it, the whole house was cold. The floor, the counter, the doors, the air, everything. All well, he’d figure it out in the morning. Or, later in the morning. He twisted the knob and pulled the door open. When he saw who was on the other side, he froze.

It was none other than Racetrack Higgins. The taller girl was covered in dirt, and her clothes were soaking wet. Bruises were all over her arms and wrists, some along her jaw, and Spot didn’t doubt that her ribs were bruised too. She looked like she was in a fight. To people on the street, it looked exactly like that. And that might have been what happened. But, what fight covered you in glitter?

“Did you try to fight a unicorn, or something?” Spot asked, grabbing Race’s wrists and pulling her into the living room. He flipped the lightswitch and looked back at his friend. Race was standing in the middle of the room, looking anxious and close to tears. “Woah, what’s going on? And what happened?” he asked. Spot gently grabbed Race’s wrists and pulled her over to the couch. 

“Um,” Race took a deep breath. “Sofia and I had a glitter fight.” Spot nodded. That explained the glitter. “And it was raining outside.” And that explained why she was wet. 

“Race, how’d you get those bruises?” Spot asked, not trying to pressure her into anything. He didn’t care about why she was wet or why she was covered in glitter. He just wanted to know how she got the bruises. 

“Spot, I-I’m gay,” Race said. Spot gave Race a confused look, but nodded anyway. 

“Well, so am I. I thought you knew that,” Spot was very confused. Race took a shaky breath and messed with her sweatshirt.

“I-I’m also, maybe, just a little bit, trans?” Race said, phrasing it more like a question. Spot just stared at her. 

“So is Romeo, and Crutchie, and I’m pretty sure more of our friends are too,” Spot said. He was sure that there were more, but it was late and he couldn’t think straight. (haha. straight.) “What’s with the bruises, Racetrack?” 

“My dad found out,” she, no he, sighed. Spot nodded slowly. He may have looked calm, but he had murder on his mind. “And, he didn’t like it. So he hit me. And kicked me. And he wouldn’t stop until he heard my aunt come to get Sofia. I just- can I stay here tonight? Please?” Spot may have wanted to kill Race’s dad, but Race needed him first. 

“You can stay here forever for all I care,” Spot said. “You’re gonna need some dry clothes, though. And a blanket. But I wanna do something first.” Race gave im a confused look. Spot stood up and waved for Rae to follow. Both boys walked quietly to Tex’s room. Spot didn’t bother knocking, she wouldn’t hear it. He walked right in and shook her shoulder. 

“What, Spot?” the tired girl slurred. The shorter boy rolled his eyes and shook her shoulder harder. “What?” she snapped, sitting up and swatting Spot’s hand away. She immediately looked over at Race. “What’s she doing here this late?”

“He, and we need a favor,” Spot said. Tex nodded and got out of bed. She sighed and walked over to her dresser. 

“What kind of favor?” she asked. Spot looked over at Race.

“Wanna do something about your hair?” Spot asked. Race whipped his head around to look at Spot.

“I’d like to, but I don’t have the money,” he shrugged. Spot rolled his eyes.

“We’re gonna do something about your hair,” Spot said. “Come on, Tex.” Spot grabbed Race’s wrist and led him to the bathroom. 

“Can you cut hair?” Race asked. Spot looked at him.

“Nope!” he said. Race’s eyes widened and he leaned away from Spot. “Tex does. Who do you think cuts my hair?” he said. Race shrugged as Tex entered the bathroom. She started to push Spot out of the room. Despite being a few months younger, Spot listened to her. She was smart.

“Out, Spottie,” she said, shutting the door on him. He huffed and tried to push the door open again. 

“What, why?” he asked. He couldn’t see her, but he knew that Tex was rolling her eyes at him. “Why can’t I come in?”

“It’s gonna be a surprise, dumbass,” she sighed. Spot huffed and sat down in the hall. He pulled his knees up to his chest and rested his head on his knees. He must have fallen asleep because the next thing he knew Tex kicked his leg out from under him.

“You done yet?” he asked, looking up at her. She nodded and pointed at the bathroom door. 

“He’s in there. I’m going to bed. Don’t wake me up again until at least eleven am,” Tex yawned. Spot scrambled to his feet and gently knocked on the bathroom door. The door opened and Spot froze, staring at Race. Race stared back. Spot looked away, he could feel his cheeks heat up. 

“I love the haircut,” he said, giving his friend a smile. Race grinned. “We should probably get some sleep. It’s getting late. Early? I don't know anymore.” Spot gave Race an extra pair of clothes. They’d be a little short on Race. After all, he was taller than Spot would ever be. Spot grabbed a blanket for Race and the two laid down in Spot’s big bed. Race got the couch wet when he sat on it earlier, so it was either share or sleep on a wet couch. Spot didn’t think that he’d ever seen Race smile so much. It was new. It was...refreshing. 

The next morning Spot woke up and quietly climbed out of bed. He grabbed his phone and called a few friends. The boy left a note telling Race and Tex where he was going and why. Then, he pulled his shoes on and grabbed a jacket and keys to the house. He was going to get Race’s stuff, even if his dad didn’t want him to. On the way over there, he called the police and explained the situation so that no one could be charged with kidnapping. 

A few of his friends from Brooklyn were outside Race’s house. Bluejay, Dice, Roger, and Ace. A few of his Manhattan friends were there too. Jack, Romeo, Mush, and Albert. 

“Mornin’ Spot,” Jack yawned. “Mind tellin’ us why we woke up so early on a Saturday to go to Race’s house?” Spot rolled his eyes and explained the situation. 

“We’re getting Race’s stuff. Whether or not he wants us to,” Spot shrugged. Everyone seemed to be ready to go in, but Mush was the only one with a legit concern. 

“Isn’t this breaking and entering?” he asked. Everyone stopped before they could walk through the door. They couldn’t anyway. The door was locked and the only one who had an extra key was Spot. 

“I called the police already and told them what happened. They said it’s ok as long as we don’t break anything that's not his,” Spot said, unlocking the door and stepping inside. The whole place smelled like alcohol. Luckily, Mr. Higgins wasn’t home. They gathered Race’s stuff into a two duffle bags. One for the clothes they knew race would wear, and one for all his little knick knacks. Spot grabbed his bag for school on their way out, leaving the front door unlocked. 

The nine of them walked back to Spot’s house. His Brooklyn friends had to leave to go home, tough. So it was just the five of them. Albert pushed the door open. Spot led them to his room and they stood in Spot’s room, waiting for Spot to wake Race up. 

“Wake up, Racetrack,” Spot said, shaking Race’s shoulder. Race sat up and blinked. He looked around.

“Jack? Mush, Albert, Romeo? What’re you guys doing’ here?” the tired boy asked. “And what’s in the bags?” Spot grinned. 

“We got your stuff, Race,” Jack grinned, setting the bag he had on the floor. Race didn’t say anything. 

“You're kidding,” Race looked at the five of them. “You’re not kidding. My dad let you in?” Spot bit his lip. 

“Your dad wasn’t home. Spot had a key,” Romeo shrugged, looking around Spot’s room. He had glow in the dark stars on the ceiling. 

“Thank you guys so, so much,” Race said, pulling Spot into a hug. The others joined in. They had never seen Race so happy in their lives.   
…   
Spot smiled. That was a day that changed their lives. Now Race was who he was. And he was happy. That was all that mattered to Spot. They hadn’t heard from Race’s father in years, and they never wanted too. They didn’t need him. They had their friends and each other. And to them, that’s all that mattered.


End file.
